Foster Wolf

Chapter 14: It's Going to Be A Long Day (Pt 2/2)

"I don't know, Ryder! I don't know! On the one hand I hate the guy, but on the other he is my soulmate. I want to be with the person who is made for me. But I just don't understand how that is him?"

"Maybe we don't know the real Hunt. Maybe we just know that Hunt who hurt you and not the real person who cares about you. And could very well be a great guy. But you'll never know if you never try."

"Ugh. I hate making decisions. Especially ones that involve Hunt."

"I know, Mist. And if you choose to give him a chance and he hurts you again, I'll kick his ass all the way to Timbuktu."

"I need to lie down."

She holds out her arm for me to pick her up so I can carry her to bed. That's what I assume anyway. I do so and gently place her into her bed and cover her up.

"Ryder, what would you do if you were in my situation?"

"I honestly don't know. But I would probably give them a chance to see if I judged them too harshly."

"Do you think I should do that?"

"I think you should do whatever feels right for you."

I leave, shutting the door softly behind me.

***

"Hey, bud, get up."

I hear a voice call out to me.

"Ryder, get up!"

"Huh." I leap out of my bed.

"You have school today? Remember?" Dad reminds me.

"Oh, yeah."

"Mist's not going. She said she doesn't feel well. You better get a move on. The bus will be here soon." He leaves, closing the door behind him.

As I'm getting ready for school, I think about the beginning of summer when I had to unfortunately tell Mist that she and Hunt are soulmates. She said she needed time and that she would tell me when she had decided what to do. We haven't talked about it since then. Mist distracted herself with summer activity with her best friend, Chris. I got to know Chris a little better myself. Sadly, for me, I was right. I get this feeling that I can't really explain, but I know what it means. Spending time with her has led me to think she might like me back. Well, that's what my mom thinks, anyway. You couldn't prove it by me. I might have great vision, but I'm blind when it comes to someone crushing on me. Multiple times Mist has told me she has seen people checking me out, but I never see it.

I stop off in Mist's room to see if she has changed her mind about not going to school today.

I peek my head into her room. "You still not going?" I ask, hoping that she is awake.

"I'm staying home. I feel kinda sick."

I walk in and sit on the edge of her bed. "Feel better, okay? This doesn't have to do with Hunt, does it?"

She sighs. "Yeah. I really don't want to see Hunt right now."

"You haven't seen him all summer."

"I know, I just, I don't know yet. Gah, I hate that Mom isn't going to start homeschooling us till next semester."

"You know the only reason for that is because Mom and Dad need to make my adoption final before they can homeschool me and Mom had to put in a notice at her work. She couldn't just quit her long-time job cold turkey. And since it's not yet it's just better for us to wait till next semester."

She huffs. "I love you."

"Love you too, sis."

I hold her hand for a moment before I have to rush out to the bus. I know she's not sick, but I'm not going to make her go to school knowing that Hunt will be there, and she doesn't know what to do about him. I quickly sneak out of Mist's room. She fell asleep in the few moments I was in there. I lock the front door on my way out since both my parents have already left for work.

I climb into the bus. I find an empty seat that faces my house and I make myself comfortable. I stare at my house, thinking about how I don't want to leave her alone like this. How I want to comfort her while she's making this decision. It's not going to be easy for her either way. I'll support her no matter what she decides.

The bus takes off and I watch as my house disappears out of site. The only thing I'm dreading about going to school today is if Hunt comes to me and asks what Mist decided. The decision she has yet to make.

I don't want to get the guy's hopes up about it by saying she's still thinking about it, but I can't tell him she still doesn't want anything to do with him because she's still thinking. Today is going to be a long one.